The Lehigh women’s lacrosse team fell behind 5-1 less than nine minute into the game, but came all the way back to pull even early in the second, helping set the stage for sophomore Sondra Dickey (Conestoga), who scored the game-winning goal with just 12 seconds remaining to give the Mountain Hawks (2-1) a thrilling 13-12 win on Saturday afternoon at Columbia.

Dickey and graduate student Julianne D’Orazio (Merion Mercy) each scored four goals to lead the offense while junior Courtney Henig (Notre Dame-NJ) tallied five points (three goals, two assists) to eclipse 100 career points in the victory.

“Columbia did some really nice things in the first half and capitalized on their opportunities on offense,” said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern (Ursinus College). “It took us a little while to get in the groove of the game and close that gap. Our resilience was on display today on both ends of the field. We were really determined to get that tying goal and later, go-ahead goal. We were proud of our defensive effort too for locking down and getting some key turnovers in the second half, which was a big help.”

The win marked the 100th as collegiate head coach for Redfern.

“I’m proud of all the players who were part of those wins,” she said. “Winning is hard to do and to be a program that’s winning consistently is a reflection of their efforts.”

D’Orazio filled up the stat sheet, posting five groundballs, five draw controls and four caused turnovers to go with her four goals. Dickey added an assist for five points, four groundballs, five draw controls and a caused turnover.

“Difference makers on the defensive end today were Kierstyn Voiro (Moorestown) who was in a matchup with one of their best players, Victoria Kalmaras (team-leading 62 points last season). Kierstyn’s performance was key in limiting her (to a goal and two assists),” said Redfern. “Lexy (King) had a big game as the backer in our zone. She took charge of our defense.”

Trailing 5-1 early, three straight Mountain Hawk goals, two from Henig, quickly pulled Lehigh back within 5-4 with 13:28 left in the first half. The teams traded goals the rest of the stanza as Columbia went into halftime leading, 7-5.

Lehigh opened the second half with two straight goals and six of the first eight. D’Orazio knotted the score at seven at the 28:33 mark, Columbia scored the next two, but the Mountain Hawks answered with a 4-0 run capped off by Henig’s third of the day to give Lehigh a 12-10 lead with 10:10 remaining.

The Lions at 7:23 and 4:19, setting the stage for Dickey’s game-winner in the final seconds. It marked Lehigh’s second straight thrilling one-goal win over Columbia. Last season, D’Orazio scored in overtime to give the Mountain Hawks a 12-11 victory.

Final shots were 38-22 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 27-17 edge in groundballs. Columbia finished with a 14-13 edge in draw controls. Freshman Samanatha Sagi finished with five saves in goal for the Mountain Hawks

Penn State 16, Cornell 11

Senior Katie O’Donnell (Henderson) scored a career-high six goals to help lead No. 12 Penn State past No. 17 Cornell in nonconference action from Panzer Stadium.

O’Donnell also added an assist for a career-high seven points and is now tied with Madison Cyr ‘16 for fourth on the Penn State all-time goals list with 156 as she has recorded multiple goals in all four games so far this season and now leads the team with 14. The senior also extends her goal streak to 26 games.

Georgetown 18, Drexel 6

The Dragons dug themselves an early hole and could not get out of it. The visiting Hoyas (2-1) scored the game’s first five goals and never trailed, leading by as many as 10 during the second half.

Colleen Grady and Lucy Schneidereith each had two goals and an assist to lead the Dragons. Schneidereith’s assist came on a goal scored by her sister, Jamie, the first time the sisters have connected for a goal as Dragons. Karson Harris won six draw controls to go along with a goal, an assist and a caused turnover. Danielle Senour (Gwynedd Mercy) forced two Georgetown turnovers. Rachel Warden (Garnet Valley) had three ground balls and a draw control victory, while Caroline Cummings picked up a pair of ground balls and had a draw and a caused turnover.

Virginia 14, Princeton 10

It was a back and forth affair in No. 9 Princeton’s home opener with No. 16 Virginia, but the Cavaliers came out on top as Avery Shoemaker (Penn Charter) had a five-point game with four goals and one assist.

Junior Kathryn Hallett led the Princeton (1-1) offense with three goals, while freshman Kyla Sears had two goals and one assist. Sophomore Annie Cory added two goals and sophomore Tess D’Orsi chipped in one goal and one assist. Junior Alex Argo had five caused turnovers, while freshman Marge Donovan had nine draws and junior Ellie McNulty had six. Senior Mary Kate McDonough made 10 saves in goal for the Tigers.

Rutgers 14, Delaware 10

Delaware fell early and was never able to fully catch up as the Blue Hens fell to Rutgers.

Hens Sophomore Sarah Bedard posted her second straight game with a hat trick by logging a career-high five points on four goals and one assist. Senior Becky Gohsler notched her first goals of the season and finished the day with three points on two goals and an assist to go along with four draw controls, four caused turnovers and two ground balls.

Division II

West Chester 20, Georgian Court 4

Tara Morrissey (Bishop Shanahan) registered six points while teammates Tatum Altman and Trisha Baud (West Deptford) each posted five points to lead No. 16 West Chester to a rout over visiting Georgian Court in the season opener at Vonnie Gros Field.

West Chester dominated from the outset, running out to a 13-1 lead by halftime. Sami Barnett (/Interboro) got the Golden Rams off to a quick start with a pair of goals on free positions within the first five minutes. The hosts had a 5-0 lead in the first 11 minutes, before Georgian Court called a timeout and stopped the rally with its only first-half marker.

Barnett finished with a hat trick on the day. Morrissey scored four times while Altman added a hat trick and a pair of assists. Baud came off the bench in the second half and registered five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in her first action in the purple & gold.

Eleven different players inked their name on the scoresheet for West Chester with seven players recording multiple-goal games.

Emily Schulze (North Penn) and Maggie Stella (Central Bucks East) each tallied a pair of goals from their starting positions. Alex Wendig (WBishop Shanahan) got a pair of goals off the bench late in the game.

Also:
Millersville 21, Wilmington 11
Kutztown 19, Thomas Jefferson 6

Division III
Haverford 17, Arcadia 9

The Fords opened their season with a dominating win over host Arcadia. The victory is the first career head coaching win for first year head coach Katie Zichelli.

The Fords received four goals from senior Molly Lausten while sophomore Paige Walton made seven saves in goal to pick up her first career victory between the pipes.

Haverford began the game on an 8-1 run, with Lausten tallying twice in the span. Lausten triggered a running clock scenario with 12:07 left in the first half, converting a free position shot for a 10-goal lead.

Allegra Benites paced the Knights with four goals while Shannon Ryan and Nicole Hutson each added a pair of tallies. Ryan won eight draw controls for Arcadia.

Gwynedd Mercy 15, Goucher 14

Alyssa Tomsic (Northampton) scored five goals, with her last one coming with 37 seconds remaining in regulation to help Gwynedd Mercy to its first win on the year in an exciting 15-14 victory over Goucher Saturday afternoon.

The Griffins (1-1) held a 14-9 edge with just over 15 minutes in the game before the Gophers rallied with five in a row, four coming from Shannon Stull. Soleil Gagne brought Goucher back to tie it at 14-14 with 50 ticks left. Victoria Braeunle (North Penn) secured the all-important draw control on the ensuing restart and found a streaking Tomsic for the eventual game winner

Camryn Sheahan (Boyertown) scored three times, Lauren Mitros (Bishop McDevitt) and Carrie Kilgore (Great Valley) each added a pair of goals as GMercyU rattled off 54 shots. Goucher goalie Bridget Den Boer did her part to keep the Gophers in the contest, registering 23 saves. Gwynedd goalie Nicole Wood (Souderton) made seven stops as the freshman picked up her first collegiate victory.

Delaware Valley 16, Keystone 15

Amanda McKeegan scored her second goal of the game 64 seconds into overtime, during a man down situation, to lead Delaware Valley to a thrilling season-opening victory over visiting Keystone. Sabrina Butler (Pottstown) had four goals and an assist for the Aggies.